For better or worse: the case of marital rape

Abstract

The small amount of literature on marital rape compared to the rather large amount of literature on stranger rape suggests that the former is viewed as a less serious crime. This conclusion is supported, in part, by the way marital rape is minimized by the law. This paper is a review of the existing literature on marital rape. It combines the material on the history of marital rape, the legal issues involved with marital rape, when marital rape is likely to occur, the effects of marital rape, and societal views of the marital rape victim in a single comprehensive paper. The intent is to provide a synthesized examination of marital rape, as well as to encourage research on marital rape. It is concluded that marital rape is a pressing problem that tends to be minimized by society and researchers need to devote greater attention to marital rape issues.